Public outcry could see the jail sentence handed to wife killer Borce Ristevski appealed, with thousands signing an online petition since yesterday's verdict.

The 55 year-old was sentenced in the Melbourne Supreme Court to nine years jail, but could be free in just four and a half years due to time already served and parole for good behaviour.

Ristevski killed his wife in 2016 at the couple's Avondale Heights home, dumped her body in bushland and lied to investigators, his family and the public for almost three years.

Borce Ristevski with his wife Karen and daughter Sarah.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in March, on the eve of a jury being empanelled for his murder trial.

Within hours of yesterday's jail sentence being delivered, five separate petitions began on Change.org, which called for the Department of Public Prosecutions to appeal the sentence as manifestly inadequate.

The largest petition, started by lobby group Proper Sentences, called for 15,000 signatures.

At the time of print, more than 14,000 people had signed it.

The petition reads, “The prison sentence handed to Borce Ristevski on 18 April 2019 for the manslaughter of his wife Karen is manifestly too short.

“At a time when violence against women is being condemned across Australia, this 9-year sentence (with a 6-year non-parole period) does not reflect community opinion.”